First Worship Service
8:45am
Community & Coffee
10:00am
Second Worship Service
10:30

Why move to two services on Sunday morning?

  • We want our Sunday morning gatherings as a church community to be defined by three things: worship, service & community. 
  • We want every member of our body to have the opportunity to worship in one of our Sunday morning worship services each week. For example, those serving in mbcKIDS are asked to forego worshiping in the gathered assembly of the church on Sunday mornings. The assembling of the church for worship is a foundational way in which we remind ourselves of our new identity in Christ and our calling to be salt and light. 
  • By moving to two worship services, we also increase opportunities for members of Midland Bible Church to engage in meaningful service on Sunday mornings. Moving to two worship services increases the number of volunteer opportunities in mbcKIDS, giving greater opportunities for our members to be trained and gain experience in teaching and discipling the youngest followers of Jesus in our church. 
  • Additionally, moving to two worship services increases the opportunity for community on Sunday mornings. Currently, there are only fifteen minutes between the end of the 9am Sunday School hour and the start of worship service. However, with the move to two worship services, there would be a thirty-minute window between the worship services, which would allow time for members of the congregation to gather in the plaza and enjoy a latte or cup of coffee before moving on either to worship or an area of meaningful service. 
  • Moving to two worship services ultimately increases our capacity for discipleship during our Sunday morning gatherings, but only if you, the body, takes advantage of the opportunities that will be available to you to GO to worship each week, and then GROW through serving or study. So, the call for our Midland Bible Church family moving into this new season is to GO & GROW. GO and worship alongside your brothers and sisters in Christ and GROW through serving or study. This will call for a new way of thinking about Sunday morning where we gather for worship, service & community each week.

Will the worship services be the same?

  • Yes, the first worship service at 8:45am and the second worship service at 10:30am will be the same. Each worship service will be the same length (75 minutes), have the same order, sing the same songs, and have the same member of the pulpit team preach. 

What will Sunday morning look like for my preschooler?

  • mbcKIDS will offer 3 hours of programming for the youngest (and littlest) group gathered on Sunday morning. Thanks to our years of experience running a high-quality Kids Day Out (KDO) program, our team knows how to lovingly care for and instruct toddlers and preschoolers. Parents will be able to check-in their nursery or preschool child beginning at 8:35am and pick up their child at 11:45am. Nursery-aged children can expect to enjoy songs, cuddles, and the love of God expressed through rocking, changing diapers, and quiet naps. Pre-school-aged children can look forward to Bible stories, songs, snacks, crafts, and play.

What will Sunday morning look like for my elementary children?

  • mbcKIDS programming for elementary through sixth grade will be the same during the 8:45am worship service and the 10:30am worship service. So children in kindergarten through sixth grade are encouraged to GO worship with their family during one worship service and GROW through mbcKIDS programming during the other worship service. We want Sunday mornings for elementary-aged children to include worship with their family plus learning with other young followers of Jesus in mbcKIDS. Elementary-aged children can expect a jam-packed hour and fifteen minutes of Bible, music, games, engaging discussion with teachers, and (weather permitting) fun in the sun! 

What will check-in and checkout times be for mbcKIDS?

  • Elementary-aged children can be checked in at 8:35am if they are attending mbcKIDS programming during the first worship service. Children should be picked up from the first worship service by 10:15am to worship with their families during the second worship service at 10:30am. Alternatively, a family may worship during the first worship service at 8:45am and then check-in their elementary-aged child beginning at 10:15am. Check-out following the 10:30am worship service will begin at 11:45am and end as quickly as possible (the line at Rosa’s gets long after 12pm!).

Should my school-aged child attend both hours of mbcKIDS?

  • We want our children to GO worship with their family for one worship service and GROW as a part of the mbcKIDS ministry for the other worship service. Having your elementary-aged child with you during a worship service may be daunting but we want to encourage and help. We want to help by providing weekly activity sheets for elementary-aged children so they can stay engaged during the sermon. We want to encourage by sharing how formative it is for a child to worship with adults. We all learn by watching and imitating. Your child will learn to worship first by watching you worship and then by imitating it. Communion and baptism Sundays will provide an opportunity for meaningful conversations with your child about faith and following Jesus. 
  • Parents should also know that mbcKIDS programming will be identical for both worship services. The immediate repetitiveness may bore a child who attends mbcKIDS for both the first and second worship services. Additionally, other children in the class may be distracted by a bored child and a teacher may struggle to have a child anticipating the answer to every question before it can be asked. Simply put, having your child attend mbcKIDS for both worship services may not be right for them, for other children, or for our mbcKIDS team.  
  • Having said this we know that some children will want to be involved in mbcKIDS for both worship services. For some children, the mbcKIDS wing is the safest and best place for them to be for the duration of Sunday mornings at MBC. For others, it may be the best choice for a particular family or child. We want to work with you as a family to help you disciple your child, so would love to talk more with you if you have questions or concerns.

What does Sunday morning with two worship services look like for those serving with mbcKIDS?

  • Our mbcKIDS team is going to model what GO & GROW looks like for our church body. Our mbcKIDS team will GROW through serving during one worship service. There are several ways this may look. Some may choose to serve bi-weekly or monthly. This serving rotation may work best for those who are involved in Connect Team, Coffee/Barista team, or are serving in the worship service through music or AV. For others, we want to encourage teaming up with your spouse, a friend, or a couple from your HomeGroup to serve for an entire semester or year. Discipleship requires time, and our Sunday morning mbcKIDS program is all about discipling our youngest followers of Jesus. Consider that God may be calling you to disciple a group of young people this year. 
  • Thankfully, our mbcKIDS team will have the opportunity to GO worship during one worship service. Many people who currently serve with mbcKIDS miss some or even most services. With two worship services, every mbcKIDS volunteer will be able to Go worship each week!  

What does Sunday morning with two worship services look like for my teenager?

  • The call for teenagers is similar to that for adults. Those in mbcSTUDENTS are encouraged to GO and GROW. Students in 7th-12th grade are encouraged to GO worship with their families at 8:45am in the first worship service. Students have the opportunity to GROW through studying at 10:30am with mbcSTUDENTS in The Commons, or GROW through serving as a part of the mbcKIDS or Coffee/Barista Team.

What will Sunday morning with two worship services look like for the Connect Team?

  • Connect Team members will serve during both worship services. Connect Team members will help welcome people into the first worship service by serving from 8:15am – 9:00am and are then invited to participate in the first worship service. Connect Team then serves again from 10:00am – 10:45am welcoming people into the second worship service.

What will Sunday morning look like for the Coffee/Barista Team?

  • Our coffee team will make sure copious carafes of coffee are ready for our worship service at 8:45am. They will help reset and brew additional pots so that coffee is available for those worshiping in the 10:30am service. Coffee team members will begin cleaning up the coffee area during the second worship service. Coffee team members are welcome to attend either the first or second worship service. 
  • Our barista team will make specialty coffee drinks from 8:15am – 8:40am before the first worship service. Baristas can then attend the first worship service. Baristas will reopen the Plaza Café for specialty coffee drinks from 10:00am – 10:25am. At the start of the second worship service, baristas will then clean and restock the Plaza Café. 

What will Sunday morning look like for the Worship, AV, & Pulpit Teams?

  • Our worship team, AV team, and pulpit team will serve for both worship services. Because this makes for a long Sunday, we are striving to build teams that allow for those serving in the worship service to do so one or two times a month. This will provide  members of our worship team, av team, and pulpit team with Sundays where they can worship with their families, enjoy the community of the church, and serve in other areas.

What will happen to Adult Electives?

  • Beginning on October 2, adult electives will begin meeting during the second worship service at 10:30am. Those leading or participating in adult electives are encouraged to GO worship in the first worship service at 8:45am and then GROW through studying together during the second worship service at 10:30am.